Human Trafficking in the Caribbean

Trafficking in persons is the fastest growing transnational criminal activity in the world and the Caribbean region is not an exception.

This is according to Fernando Garcia-Robles, Coordinator of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit of the Organization of American States (OAS) Department of Public Security.

Garcia-Robles made the statement at the beginning of a training course in St. Vincent, aimed at strengthening the capacity of law enforcement officials, judges and prosecutors in the Caribbean to identify and combat trafficking in persons especially women and children.

Garcia-Robles said that today, trafficking in persons is considered as a form of modern slavery and a complete violation of human rights, including but not limited to, force sexual exploitation, exploitation of labour, sex tourism, exploitation by begging, forced domestic services, illegal trafficking of organs and illegal adoptions among other things.

"In 2005", said Garcia-Robles, "a study conducted by the OAS revealed that transborder human trafficking exists in many of the Caribbean member states and that many other countries interconnected with the Caribbean are also affected as source, transit or destination countries".

He revealed that although mainly a source region, the Caribbean is also becoming a transit point for trafficking women and men enroute to Asia, Europe or more economically developed countries in the western hemisphere.

"Recent reports state that a number of Caribbean countries favoured as tourist destinations are at the centre of a growing sex tourism industry", stressed Garcia-Robles

This is an excerpt from svgtoday